According to a UNICEF survey conducted in 2020, they note that “literacy among youth is rising, but young women lag behind.” There still exists considerable gender disparities in literacy rates globally. The UNICEF survey also states, “more than 85% of world’s illiterate youth live in South Asia and Africa.” Not to mention the obstacles presented by the pandemic which prevented many school-aged children from attending in person classes, and these numbers by now may vary.
The worldwide campaign for literacy and education continues in our modern age.
There are countless champions of women’s education both recognized and unknown. It would be impossible to list even a fraction of them. Nevertheless we are highlighting a small handful of women that have left their mark on history.
“I saw my rights in the rights of others.”
María Ofelia Navarrete
Formerly a guerilla commander of FMLN (Farabundo Martí National Liberation Front) during the civil war of El Salvador, Navarrete has since become a minister of local development and serves under El Salvador’s current president Nayib Bukele. Even during her days as a combatant, Navarrete spoke passionately about the importance of building schools to educate El Salvador’s youth. She often focuses on just this topic as a present-day state legislator. Navarrete also teaches at a local school in her hometown. A documentary was filmed in the 1980’s about Navarrete’s daily life in the FMLN. It’s called “Maria’s Story” and is available to be rented on Amazon Prime Video.
“We shall overcome, and success will be ours in the future. The future belongs to us.”
Savitribai Phule 1831 – 1897
Phule started India’s first school for girls. She was also the first woman in India to become a schoolteacher. Phule endured the abuse and disapproval of her local community. She often encountered insults from her neighbors as she walked to school to teach and even packed an extra sari every day because people would sometimes throw dung at her as well. Phule pioneered the path for women’s education in India.
“Literacy is a bridge between misery and hope.”
– Qabale Duba
Duba is the founder of the Qabale Duba Foundation (QDF) which focuses on promoting education for girls and women in Kenya. She also the first girl to graduate from college in her village’s history. The organization has recently begun the Torbi Pioneer Academy which offers literacy classes to children in their pastoral community. Click on this link to watch Duba’s thought-provoking TED Talks lecture on “Giving Back to Society by Bridging the Illiteracy Gap.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVjxYA0OCLI
“I am one of the people who love the why of things.”
Catherine the Great 1729 – 1796
Catherine was a German princess turned Russian empress who successfully orchestrated a coup against her husband Emperor Peter III and reigned over Russia longer than any other female leader in the country’s history. She founded the first state-financed school in Russia for girls: the Smolny Institute of Noble Maidens in Russia and numerous other public and private schools. The Smolny Institute still stands today and has been converted into a museum open to the public.
Catherine even has an entire Hulu series inspired by her reign called “Catherine the Great”. A few episodes of which focus on her passion project of building schools for Russian children.
“Today a reader, tomorrow a leader.”
Margaret Fuller 1810-1850
Margaret Fuller was journalist who wholeheartedly supported women’s right to an education and was the first woman to be accepted at Harvard University. She advocated for equal educational rights for women. She inspired famous intellectuals of her day, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allen Poe, Susan B. Anthony, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.
who say no to the choices made by silly mothers, incompetent fathers (there are seldom any wise fathers in Austen’s novels) and the rigidly orthodox society. They risk ostracism and poverty to gain love and companionship, and to embrace that elusive goal at the heart of democracy: the right to choose.”
Reading Lolita in Tehran, pg. 307 by Azar Nafisi
A previous commencement speaker at SU (class of 2019) Nafisi’s memoir “Reading Lolita in Tehran” is an incredible testament to her life’s work in education. Nafisi conducted an underground book club that focused on outlawed Western classics with her female university students beneath the nose of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Her novel brings the issue of women’s struggle for education to the forefront.
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